Grants Director

The University of New Mexico's Project ECHO is seeking a dynamic strategic leader with an operations focus to oversee and direct the ECHO Institute's high-profile funding initiative as it continues to increase in complexity. This individual will play a key role in supporting the strategic growth and expansion of Project ECHO around the world. The Grants Director leads the Grants Team, which is responsible for working with internal and external stakeholders, managing grants from proposal and budgeting to awards, and maintaining specialized databases and systems for recording and tracking grant proposals, awards, and potential funding opportunities. This individual also ensures compliance with the UNM Health Sciences Center Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) policies, guidelines, and requirements. The Grants Director is an essential role in Project ECHO's long-term sustainability and prominence in communities that it serves around the world.

As the Grants Director, you will:

• Oversee the supervision of the ECHO Grants Team, which manages and coordinates over $100 Million in funding proposals every year and provides strategic support on sustainability and funding to the ECHO Institute and to members of the global ECHO movement.
• Oversee and direct the work allocation and workflows across all members of the ECHO Grants Team. Perform regular check-ins with team members separately and as a group for goal-setting, problem resolution, performance evaluation, motivation, and progress toward achieving goals.
• Oversee and direct the enforcement of internal procedures and protocols for team personnel.
• Mentor and coach supervisory team members of the Grants Team on effective management practices and encourage participation in the Management Action Program (MAP) for continued learning and development.
• Lead, direct, and coordinate ECHO leadership and project teams on strategic outreach and engagement plans and projects for domestic and global funding and sustainability.
• Lead and coordinate the work of the ECHO Grants Team with other ECHO teams, partners in other UNM departments, and external U.S. and global partners in the identification and cultivation of appropriate private and government funding opportunities. Lead, direct, and coordinate in the design of programs and projects in response to these funding opportunities and in the development and implementation of proposals, budgets, timelines, and outreach and engagement plans.
• Identify and develop working relationships with ECHO Institute team members at all levels, particularly the Executive Leadership Team and Fundraising/Development Team to provide strategic directions for fundraising, grants, and sustainability.
• Provide and ensure communication with all relevant stakeholders at critical points in the development of proposals and funding plans and projects for sustainability.
• Design, establish, and maintain an organizational structure and starring, including recruitment, training, overseeing, and deploying team members across the organization, to effectively accomplish the goals and objectives of the ECHO Grants Team and annual ECHO priorities.
• Advise and guide process teams regarding cross-functional considerations, workflow integration and coordination, and optimization of best practices.
• Develop automation tools using programs like Smartsheet to manage workflow, turnaround times, and dashboards for tracking requests for effective grant operations.
• Conduct After Action Reviews (AAR) on a regular basis on key projects to ensure continuous improvement and learning for effective grants management.
• Develop and manage operating budgets for project proposals and bids in close communication with various ECHO teams and the UNM SPO to ensure accuracy and compliance with all university, federal, and funder guidelines.
• Perform periodic cost and productivity analyses of project proposal budgets, working with the ECHO Finance Team, ECHO Leadership, and specific program managers, as appropriate.
• Negotiate any changes in project resources with ECHO Institute leadership, project managers, and external funders as necessary to achieve objectives and timelines.

Project ECHO is unique and innovative center based within a vibrant academic community at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. Our mission is to democratize implementation of best practices with a goal of helping 1 billion people lead better lives by 2025. We are looking for mission-driven high performers who share similar values to join our team and help us achieve this goal.

Project ECHO is committed to democratizing implementation of best practices in healthcare, education and other areas where first mile professionals need support. We do this by training universities, nonprofits, and dedicated individuals on facilitation skills and how to set up robust virtual communities of practice to be able to scale their own expertise and missions to the benefit of their local communities. Over the past 20 years, Project ECHO and our partners have trained more than 1,000 partners who make up our global network of Universities, ministries of health, and NGOs around the world. Examples of programs we and others run include infectious disease control (Hepatitis C, HIV), mental health and addiction treatment, literacy, math, climate mitigation and many more.

Project ECHO is funded in part by philanthropic grants and gifts from organizations such as the GE Foundation, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, the Merck Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the US Government. Additionally, for programming benefitting New Mexico we receive support from the NM Legislature, the New Mexico Human Services Department and the New Mexico Department of Health.

Project ECHO prides itself on being a values-based organization and inclusive place to work. Our seven values include: Service to the Underserved, Democratization of Knowledge, Mutual Trust and Respect, Teamwork, Excellence and Accountability, Innovation and Learning and Joy of Work. We strive to find individuals who can embrace and exemplify these values. In addition, Project ECHO was named one of Albuquerque's Top Three Best Places to Work in 2023. This award recognizes organizations of all sizes with exceptional climates, team atmospheres, benefits, and employee engagement. For more information and a brief overview of benefits available please visit Project ECHO Newsroom.

We work with partners all over the world and work hours outside of normal business hours may be required. We are fortunate to have access to advanced technology, which will require some teleworking.

See the Position Description for additional information.

Bachelor's degree; at least 7 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

• Master's degree
• 7+ years experience in grant writing, grant administration, grant management, grant cycles, response times, copy editing and partnership development
• 5+ years experience in leadership, strategic planning and operations
• Demonstrated success in obtaining grants with private, state and federal entities
• Experience and understanding of grants management in a university setting; sponsored projects and post-award
• Collaborative and adept at working with diverse groups across different cultures and time zones
• Skilled at reconciling divergent views and competing priorities while negotiating to a unified path forward

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Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.